First Class
by TootMyOwnHorn
Summary: On the flight home from Gander, the first class compartment is (mercifully) unoccupied... for now.


**First Class**

"You can sit anywhere you like," the flight attendant said. "I suspect you two'll want to sit together, huh?" she smiled to Diane conspiratorially.

Diane remembered her from Gander – she'd wound up staying at the same Academy shelter as her and Nick – and the flight attendant (Louise, Diane thought her name was) had gone so far as to make conversation a few times in the breakfast line.

Much to Diane's amusement, Louise had thought that she and Nick were a couple the first time they'd spoken. Diane had quickly set the record straight, although she didn't think she'd been believed, as the next time they spoke, Louise had asked "are you sure you two aren't a couple? I mean, have you seen the way he looks at you?"

And then the following day, much to her mortification, Louise had said "okay, if you two aren't already a couple then you definitely will be soon. I mean, it's obvious from the way you look at him that you want him."

And now she was offering the two of them a pair of seats to themselves near the back of the plane, stating "you shouldn't be disturbed back here", all but adding in _wink, wink, nudge, nudge_ and waggling her eyebrows.

Diane managed to keep herself from rolling her eyes. A matchmaker was the last thing she needed right now – these were her precious last few hours with Nick and she had no idea what to say to him. Having Louise playing cupid was not going to help.

As the plane taxied along the runway and took off, Diane gripped the armrest of her seat, suddenly anxious. Not about the flight, she thought, she'd already had the flight from hell and had survived that just fine in Gander. No, she was anxious because for the first time in their acquaintance, she didn't know what to say to Nick.

In the early stages of their… whatever they had (friendship didn't quite seem to cover it, but Diane didn't feel right using labels with any more significance just yet) she had been the one to carry the conversation, Nick often seeming to babble if he got nervous. She hadn't minded, she'd found it strangely charming and it had helped her open up to him more than she usually would with a relative stranger.

Their conversations had always flowed easily and freely, but now there was nothing but a weighty silence hanging between them.

Diane didn't know how to break it and she couldn't bear the thought of her last hours with Nick being wasted this way. After all, once they landed they would surely go their separate ways and what if she never saw him again? What if he didn't want to keep in touch, to speak to her again after he returned to normal life?

She felt the loss keenly, like an icicle in her chest and before she knew it, tears were flowing quietly down her cheeks. She turned her face to look out the window, not wanting to draw any attention to the fact, especially not from Nick, but it seemed she was unsuccessful as his arm gently slid around her shoulder, the warm weight comforting in her distress.

The plane shook a little, jostling her towards him and allowing her to feel a little more of the warmth of his torso against hers. She savoured the sensation, not knowing how much more contact she and Nick would have. Even if she did see him again, who's to say he would want to pursue a relationship of that nature with her?

There had been a moment, up at Dover Fault where she'd thought perhaps there might have been more, a certain longing in his gaze, but then they'd walked back down again, maintaining a careful distance.

It was probably just wishful thinking.

It was at that moment that several things happened at once.

The plane rumbled again, hitting another patch of turbulence. Diane clutched a little more tightly to the armrest. Nick pressed a soft kiss to somewhere in the region of Diane's cheek.

Had he just…?

No, surely it must have been an accident. The plane had been jostling after all.

Diane found the courage to turn and look up at him, her eyes flitting back and forth, searching his.

The warmth and care and… and … _adoration _she saw there made her audibly draw breath.

At this, Nick's eyes slid momentarily to her parted lips before returning to her own. Upon seeing his pupils ever so slightly dilated, Diane steeled herself, leaned forwards and pressed her lips to his.

For a moment, they were both frozen in shock and Diane thought she'd made a terrible mistake, but then she felt Nick's arm tighten around her shoulder and his other hand settle just above her knee as his lips began to move in return.

_Oh thank God. _

She kissed him back, trying to let all of her emotions and desires and wanting from the last five days pour out into that kiss, tenderly stroking a hand through his hair and coming to rest at the back of his neck.

Their kisses were tender and gentle but eager, neither willing to be the first one to let go. But eventually, human need for trivial things like oxygen got in the way and they separated, resting their foreheads together and smiling giddily at one another.

"I've been wanting to do that since the Dover Fault," she admitted, feeling a flush creep up her neck.

"I've been wanting to do that since we landed in Gander," he laughed bashfully, reaching up to gently stroke her cheek.

"You're incredible, Diane. I've never met anyone like you."

At the look of devotion in his eyes, Diane once again lunged forward into a kiss, this one more passionate than the last. Along the course of the kiss, something changed between them and suddenly they couldn't get close enough, hands roving and grabbing and pulling closer, closer.

Their kisses grew deeper and more fervent, tongues exploring as they pressed every inch of their bodies as close together as possible.

Nick's hand had slid further and further up her thigh and she'd begun toying with the edge of his shirt collar when they were startled apart by the clearing of a throat.

"Ahem…. Cold towel, you two?"

It was Louise, tong in hand and a salacious smile spreading across her face.

Diane shrunk back into her seat, rapidly turning scarlet and trying to subtly straighten out her clothing. She didn't miss the way Nick had strategically crossed his legs and laid one arm oh-so-casually across his lap. It seems she wasn't the only one affected.

But it was as effective as a cold shower, the reminder that they were very much in public here. Too out in the open.

It was then that Diane was struck with an idea.

"Hold on a minute, I'll be right back," she whispered to him breathlessly, before jumping up from her seat and winding her way up the aisle, not entirely sure whether the shaky feeling in her legs was from some mild turbulence or whether that was just the effect that Nick had on her.

Keeping a watchful eye out for the flight crew, she tried to move as inconspicuously as she could, ducking her head through the curtain into the first class compartment of the plane. She gave a silent internal whoop of delight – just as she'd suspected, it was empty.

She turned and made her way back down the aisle to where Nick was sitting expectantly. She gathered up the blanket from the seat back and leaned in to whisper to him:

"Give it two minutes, then follow me up to first class. Try not to let the flight attendants see you."

"What?" he laughed incredulously under his breath. "You can't be serious?"

"I checked, it's completely empty. Now, don't be too long," she murmured, kissing him on the cheek, then turning away to once again stride up the aisle, albeit a little more purposefully this time.

Fate must have her back, she decided, as she made it through the dividing curtain for the second time with no interference from airline staff.

She took a moment to look around, never having flown first class before. The seats looked absolutely luxurious, bound in a soft leather and much more well-padded than economy, Diane discovered as she lowered herself into one.

Cautiously reaching for a switch on the arm of the chair, she gasped as the chair swung back into a reclined position, taking her with it.

"This is perfect," she thought, giggling to herself, before attempting to extract herself from the seat (which was harder than it should have been, she thought after finally managing to stumble clumsily onto the floor).

Diane straightened up just in time to notice the rustle of the curtain. She froze, her heart racing in her chest, before letting out a relieved breath as Nick slid through the gap, closing the curtain meticulously behind him.

Diane's heart continued to race, but for very different reasons.

Both of them gazed at each other for a moment, eyes raking over one another, their chests rising and falling with each anticipatory breath. Diane took a step toward Nick and that was enough for the tension to snap.

He lunged for her, rapidly covering the extra feet between them before wrapping his arms around her and planting his mouth on hers.

If their earlier kisses had been wild then this was utterly electrifying, Diane thought as she splayed her hands across his back, clutching him closer to her.

She could feel every inch of his torso pressed against her and his tall, thin frame belied the surprisingly muscled shoulders beneath her fingertips. She tilted her neck, raising one hand up to cup his jawline, deepening the angle of the kiss. His tongue darted out to taste her and she gasped at the unexpectedly bold gesture.

At the feel of his hands at her waist, Diane began to pepper kisses along his cheek, trailing her way to a delicate patch just below his left earlobe, gently nipping the skin.

The gentle growl this elicited sparked a fresh burst of desire that started to pool low in her belly.

The thought of Nick's perfectly chivalrous manner starting to crack was an enticing one, and so she allowed her teeth to softly graze the tender skin once more, before soothing it with a kiss.

"Diane…." he let out in a shaky breath, his fingers tensing around her hips. She felt one hand gently slide up under her shirt to play across the smooth skin of her back and it was like fire. She wrapped her arms more tightly around him, one hand at his waist, one hand at the back of his head, fingers splayed through his hair. She pressed as close to him as she could and every point of contact sent a bolt of desire straight through her.

She gently walked him backwards until his legs hit the edge of the reclined seat and he tumbled backwards, Diane following him shortly after, carefully placing one knee in the gap between his legs and lowering her body down against his as they melted into another kiss.

Nick continued to run one hand up and down her side, his fingertips skimming tantalisingly over the edge of her breast. She swallowed a moan and pressed into him further.

This new position brought them into even closer contact and Diane suddenly became very aware of the sizeable bulge in Nick's trousers that she was now effectively straddling. Pausing, she pulled back from his kisses to look at him once more. His skin was flushed with a delightful tinge of pink, his lips were swollen and parted slightly as he breathed heavily, looking up at her with hooded eyes, his pupils blown wide and dark with desire.

Diane delicately trailed a fingertip slowly down his chest, pausing momentarily when she reached his belt buckle, before steeling herself and reaching further down, grasping him fully with more confidence than she was inwardly feeling.

His rapid intake of breath was intoxicating. It made her feel in control and powerful, it made her feel wanted, it made her feel… sexy.

She switched gear, slowing everything down and started to toy with his buckle, occasionally grazing the skin above it with her fingertips. His small, soft moans were driving her wild but she held her ground, unzipping his trousers tantalisingly slowly before tracing small circles with one finger.

Nick inhaled sharply and if she hadn't been so completely focused on every aspect of his being she might have missed it, as he exhaled with a shuddery breath and whispered:

"Please…"

That was her undoing and her mouth captured his once more, her tongue delving and tasting every moan as her hand encircled his length and she settled into a quick and steady rhythm.

Diane could feel her own desire pooling low in her belly and Nick's soft growls were driving her wild.

She was about to climb on top of him more thoroughly when she heard it – a sudden crash and the sound of voices.

"Careful, Louise, we don't have many trays to spare!"

"Sorry, Emma, just butterfingers, I guess."

"Right, well, I'll get this lot served, can you follow up on drinks?"

Diane glanced up in time to see the ruffle of curtains and realised they had mere seconds before they were about to be discovered.

Thinking quickly, she lunged for the blanket she'd brought up from coach and spread it over the two of them, silencing Nick's puzzled glances with a finger to his lips.

Louise parted the curtains and walked in with a coffee pot.

"So here you two are! We were wondering where you'd got to. You know, I hate to break up the party, but you really shouldn't be up here if you've only got an economy ticket. It's not fair to the other passengers."

They both nodded in acquiescence, neither of them quite able to bring themselves to speak just yet.

Louise smiled at them and Diane could have sworn she gave her the smallest of winks as she turned on her heel and headed back towards the rear of the plane.

Nick and Diane carefully disentangled themselves, straightening out their clothes, neither meeting the other's eye.

"I, erm… I might… ahem… I might need a minute," Nick said bashfully, while carefully zipping up his trousers.

Diane couldn't help but smile to herself as he went on.

"You know, whilst I'm supposed to return to London after we land, my company didn't actually specify _when _they expected me back. I suppose I don't _have_ to fly out straight away. I don't wish to presume, but if you wanted, perhaps…" he faltered, doubt beginning to seep into his expression.

"Of course!" Diane exclaimed. "Come and stay with me, I'd love to have you. Have you over, I mean!" she amended quickly.

They grinned at each other.

The remainder of the plane ride passed in a much tamer fashion, though they couldn't keep from holding hands throughout the flight and occasionally Nick would pull her in for a gentle kiss. And while things didn't escalate beyond that, Diane could still taste it.

The promise of things to come.


End file.
